Toccoa River

How far downstream from lake blue ridge can you wade? Just can't figure out if private property lines extend into the river bed or since it is considered navigable does it not matter if they do.

Hello Quackmaster. I have Floated the Toccoa MANY times. It has fallen off of my radar....because of all the "Toobers" that now launch from Tanmen Park just below the Dam. You can wade at the park...and the Fishing is Good.....for mostly stockers. You can wade a decent stretch there. There is also Curtis Switch....which has a more rustic feel....and you can go several hundred yards North and South there. Finally, there is Horseshoe Bend Park....where you can also wade for maybe a quarter mile or more. While you must Always respect Land Owners....they are used to seeing people on the River every day. You should have few problems while in the River. In my opinion....it is Much better to float it....if only to get away from the crowds.

The Toccoa is making a comeback from years ago when they repaired the Dam....and let water temps get too hot.....killing off Thousands of Rainbows. Browns managed to weather the storm....but are on another level for most people.....but they are there....and LARGE. Hope this helps and Good Luck....D

The river bed is probably unique in Georgia in that it is owned by TVA, not the adjoining landowners. You can wade from the dam to Tenn. if you are so inclined.

That doesn't prevent those landowners from posting "private property" signs or "catch and release only" signs. To clarify, the land adjoining the river is private, so you can't get out wherever you want, but the river itself and the fish in it are all yours.

On a technical matter, although you can float a canoe down it (sometimes), it is not a "navigable river" in a legal sense.

JackSprat said:

The river bed is probably unique in Georgia in that it is owned by TVA, not the adjoining landowners. You can wade from the dam to Tenn. if you are so inclined.

That doesn't prevent those landowners from posting "private property" signs or "catch and release only" signs. To clarify, the land adjoining the river is private, so you can't get out wherever you want, but the river itself and the fish in it are all yours.

On a technical matter, although you can float a canoe down it (sometimes), it is not a "navigable river" in a legal sense.

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Ok, I've been told it was navigable below blue ridge, but not above it, but wasn't sure if that was true. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

BluFish said:

Hello Quackmaster. I have Floated the Toccoa MANY times. It has fallen off of my radar....because of all the "Toobers" that now launch from Tanmen Park just below the Dam. You can wade at the park...and the Fishing is Good.....for mostly stockers. You can wade a decent stretch there. There is also Curtis Switch....which has a more rustic feel....and you can go several hundred yards North and South there. Finally, there is Horseshoe Bend Park....where you can also wade for maybe a quarter mile or more. While you must Always respect Land Owners....they are used to seeing people on the River every day. You should have few problems while in the River. In my opinion....it is Much better to float it....if only to get away from the crowds.

The Toccoa is making a comeback from years ago when they repaired the Dam....and let water temps get too hot.....killing off Thousands of Rainbows. Browns managed to weather the storm....but are on another level for most people.....but they are there....and LARGE. Hope this helps and Good Luck....D

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Thanks for the info, I don't have access to anything to float it with, but I figure wading will give me a decent shot at a good size brown trout.

Quackmasterofgeorgia said:

Ok, I've been told it was navigable below blue ridge, but not above it, but wasn't sure if that was true. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

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"Navigable rivers" in Georgia are rivers mostly below the fall line. It's an archaic 19th century definition, but it's the law.

"Navigable" means you have a right of passage. Being able to float a canoe, or even a fishing boat does not make it "navigable." It's not a big deal, but better to use the correct terminology.

JackSprat said:

"Navigable rivers" in Georgia are rivers mostly below the fall line. It's an archaic 19th century definition, but it's the law.

"Navigable" means you have a right of passage. Being able to float a canoe, or even a fishing boat does not make it "navigable." It's not a big deal, but better to use the correct terminology.

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Yeah, I understand, that's why I thought it was odd hearing that it was navigable, especially it being in the mountains.

Hey Jack, good info here for sure. Given your history with the toccoa, I don't doubt you know of the years long disputes by land owners to keep people from fishing and anchoring a kayak or canoe in the water in front of private property to fish. I was wondering if you could post a source for the river bed being owned by tva. I've always been told the land owners own to the middle part of the river, unless they own both sides of the river, in which case they own all the land under the river which is why they are so apt to enforce a no wading/anchoring policy in front of their land. I sure hope you're right, but Id love to read up on it before I exercise my rights, respectfully of course.

southernforce7 said:

. I've always been told the land owners own to the middle part of the river, unless they own both sides of the river, in which case they own all the land under the river which is why they are so apt to enforce a no wading/anchoring policy in front of their land. I sure hope you're right, but Id love to read up on it before I exercise my rights, respectfully of course.

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As a general proposition in Georgia that is true for non-navigable rivers.. The Toccoa below the dam is the only river in Georgia which I know has this situation. There may be others but I don't know what they are and doubt that they exist.

The easiest way to verify this is to look at the tax commissioners maps -the river bed is gray, because it belongs to TVA and is not taxable. The information about who owns it is not readily ascertainable online, so I stopped in the tax commissioner's officer one day years ago and verified this information. You can't call and ask, because the person answering the phone probably does not know what you are talking about, or will give you bad information.

Take a bag of sand with you next time, hand it to anyone who tells you you can't fish, float, or anchor in front of their property, and tell them to pound it.

Due to health, it's been a while since I fished there, but I thought the catch and release only signs were hilarious.

BTW, I thought the simple way was to call TVA. Wrong. It's a massive bureaucracy, and you are trying to get a technical legal answer, starting with somone's high school drop out cousin who needs the job answering the phone. Think about how much land TVA owns, and you are talking about a tiny piece of if. There may be a local office with someone with local knowledge, but I couldn't locate it online.

Yeah, my wife has numerous photos of me fishing in front of those signs from my yak. There's a fairly new one up there that says something about northwest GA board of trout conservation area, no fishing for a thousand feet....hogwash. Thanks for the info Jack! Much appreciated, my friend.